Powell Urges Abbas to Restrain Terrorists

Secretary of State Colin Powell urged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday to move faster to restrain terrorist groups. “We want him to use that limited capability as effectively as he can,” Powell told The Associated Press. In an interview minutes after back-to-back telephone calls to Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Powell said, “We are going to keep moving to peace.” He also said that the U.S.-backed road map for getting there is intact despite a sustained outbreak of violence and that both leaders were still committed to moving forward. “All of us can get together and apply pressure on Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and other organizations responsible for this kind of terror,” he said. In the interview in a reception room near his State Department office, Powell credited Sharon with dismantling some West Bank settlement outposts and taking other steps to implement the road map. As for Abbas, who Israel insists has not taken direct action against Palestinian terror groups, Powell said: “I believe that he can do more. He has said he would do more.” Full Story

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